Two days before Labor Day weekend started, Clara, Molly and I hopped in the car for our first-ever girls-only road trip to visit Hop and Mop in Orange County. We missed our guys -- who had work and kindergarten obligations -- but there was something really special about making memories with just my little ladies.
Knowing I was travelling with a baby with an extremely low tolerance for her carseat (she's managed to barf all over herself on at least three recent long car trips), I knew I had to break up the 8-hour drive with an overnight stop... and I knew just where to go.
On our way back from San Diego earlier in the summer, we spent the night at Harris Ranch, an oasis in the middle of seemingly millions of acres of farmland en route to southern California. The smell of cattle, Coalinga, and Highway 5 made the kids almost retch when we opened the car doors in front of the hotel at 9 pm that night, but by 9:30, we were all nightswimming in the gorgeous hotel pool, enjoying the magic of a warm valley night after the sun goes down. It turned out to be a highlight of that trip, even prompting Tim to famously ponder, "Do you think people actually come here for vacation?" The idea of someone considering Harris Ranch a bonafide tourist destination seemed absurd at the time, but after a return stay with the girls in tow, I have to admit that it definitely deserves a spot on anyone's itinerary.
This time, pulling into the resort in the late afternoon after a 4-hour drive from the Bay Area, I requested a family suite just off the pool deck, so we could suit up, swim, and be able to dash into our room quickly for bathroom trips, bottles, a glass of wine, or a room service menu :)
Once again, nightswimming proved to be just about the most perfect way we could have spent the evening, especially with a little fish named Clara, who reluctantly emerged from the pool at 10 p.m. after almost four solid hours of mermaid-ing. She wowed -- and scared -- many fellow guests with her breathholding, and barely came up for air to eat dinner, let alone to answer multiple questions about how old she was ("three and eleven twelfths!"), and how she learned to swim.
Meanwhile, Molly loved the water, the pool deck, and the fresh raspberries that a local farmer passed out to all the late night pool guests!
Clara was still wired by the time we got into jammies back in the hotel room, but poor Molly tried to lay down and sleep on the hotel room floor -- naked, thumb in mouth -- after I had stripped her bathing suit off. She's definitely not used to burning the midnight oil in a swimming pool!
Needless to say, we got a late start in the morning, and delayed getting back in the car even more by deciding to get back in the pool for a morning swim.
This was just the beginning of many strange things that Clara said and did during our five-day trip. Flying solo without her big brother, and suddenly the only "big kid" in sight, her independence, quirkiness, and stubborness were on full display. Luckily, Hop and Mop seemed to be entertained and amused by our wacky little girl and her many wacky moments.
Once again, nightswimming proved to be just about the most perfect way we could have spent the evening, especially with a little fish named Clara, who reluctantly emerged from the pool at 10 p.m. after almost four solid hours of mermaid-ing. She wowed -- and scared -- many fellow guests with her breathholding, and barely came up for air to eat dinner, let alone to answer multiple questions about how old she was ("three and eleven twelfths!"), and how she learned to swim.
Meanwhile, Molly loved the water, the pool deck, and the fresh raspberries that a local farmer passed out to all the late night pool guests!
Needless to say, we got a late start in the morning, and delayed getting back in the car even more by deciding to get back in the pool for a morning swim.
Finally, though, we had to face facts and get back on the road for our long leg of the trip...luckily, this time, we had Hop and Mop waiting for us at the other end, with a promise of wine, BBQ and more fun in the sun!
Apparently, a five-hour car ride tested Clara's limits in the carseat. She had a whole bag of toys to keep herself and Molly entertained, but only played with two the entire drive: a T-Rex dinosaur and a tiny plastic Superman. While they alternately chatted with each other and battled for control of the world in her lap, I wondered if she felt adrift without her big brother... and after I pulled into a rest stop near Magic Mountain, I had my answer. I turned around in my seat to see this sight, and hear her utter this nonsense: "I want to be a boy and have a beard and mustache. I miss my brother Joey."
- Seeing Hop and Mop's neighbors over their fence, she asked if they were Mop's parents.
- During a game of catch with Mop, Mop dropped the football, and Clara crowed, "Butterfingers!" and then added, "That's what my Daddy says."
- She emptied their automatic ice dispenser with her overzealous mission to feed their dog Charlie as many ice cubes as possible.
- While mastering the art of diving to the bottom of the pool to pick up a plastic Triceratops -- and fighting her body's natural buoyancy -- she bobbed up to the surface of the pool again and again and breathlessly shouted "No push!" Fiercely independent, but even more stubborn, she finally succumbed after about 25 tries, came up for air, and asked for help by bellowing, "Push!"
- She spent way more time washing the (many) garden gnomes, watering flowers, and playing with Charlie than she did playing with the plentiful dolls in the toy chest.
- After a particularly loud sneeze over breakfast, she said, "That was a big 'bless you'!"
2 comments:
What a great trip! We stayed at Harris Ranch on our way to San Diego last summer and also very much enjoyed it (much to my surprise!).
what a great trip! So sad we didn't get to see you. You look SO pretty in that picture with your girls at your parents house. I hope that one makes it to a frame!
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